Genevieve Lefoux
Madame Lefoux ran the hat shop Chapeau de Poupe, which later passed to Sandalio Di Rabbifano (Biffy). She is also a scientist and inventor, and a member of the Order of the Brass Octopus. Among her inventions is Alexia's parasol, which contains many resources for dealing with supernaturals. Appearance Madame Lefoux is described as very beautiful, with a small mouth, large green eyes, prominent cheekbones, and dimples. Her hair is unfashionably short, and she dresses rather fashionably (though inappropriately) in men's clothing. She has a tattoo of an octopus on the back of her neck, which signifies her membership to the OBO. Personality Gail talks about Genevieve in her "Page 69 Test" Blog post: "One of my favorite things about writing [[Finishing School Series|Finishing School series]] was the opportunity to explore Vieve's character further. She's 10 in Etiquette & Espionage ... and in her 30s in the Parasol Protectorate series. Throughout both she is charming and a great lover of technology, who is excited by creativity. But in the Finishing School books, I got to write her before her heart is broken and she becomes brittle. In the Parasol Protectorate books, Alexia (the main character) finds Madame Lefoux fascinating, but untrustworthy and for good reason. Sophronia, on the other hand, adores Vieve but doesn't need to trust her. Sophronia is a spy, she doesn't trust anyone. Yet both Sophronia and Vieve are loyal to each other and have a strange kind of integrity. I like the way that the same side character reflects and interrelates differently with my two main characters. This, I hope, tells readers quite a bit about Vieve and how she changes over the years, but also how different Sophronia's view of the world is from Alexia's." History An illegitimate child, Genevieve was dropped off with her Aunt Beatrice by her father. Her father died shortly thereafter. Her father may or may not have known Alessandro Tarabotti, Lefoux inicates she once met Alexia's dad. She lived with her aunt at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality, using the name Vieve and presenting herself as a boy. While there she had free reign of the school, and made friends with the sooties, Soap, and Sophronia Temminnick. Her nickname among the sooties was Trouble, which she excelled at getting into. She later went on to attend Bunson and Lacroix's Boys' Polytechnique under the pseudonym Gaspar Lefoux, and graduated with distinction. After that she attended École des Arts et Métiers, still disguised as a boy, and befriended Gustave TrouvéBlameless, ''chapter 6. After school, Genevieve started a shop with her aunt Beatrice in Paris, where they produced domestic women's gadgets. As a young woman, she was romantically involved with Angelique, and adopted Angelique's son Quesnel after he was abandoned by his mother (Angelique sought immortality as a vampire, but was unable to become a drone because she had a child, leading to her abandoning Quesnel and keeping a distinct air of mystery about her). In the Books ''Etiquette & Espionage Genevieve is known as "Vieve" at Mademoiselle Geraldine's. She is about 9 years old. She becomes a friend and useful resource to Sophronia Temminnick, due to her interest in invention and skill with machines. Curtsies & Conspiracies In Curtsies & Conspiracies, she convinces Sophronia and her Aunt Beatrice to help her to attend Bunson's boys school so she can become an inventor. Her plan leads Sophronia into a bargain to take Algonquin Shrimpdittle, the only Bunson's professor who knows she's female, out of the picture. Waistcoats & Weaponry Coming soon Changeless Coming soon. Heartless Coming soon. Timeless Coming soon. Prudence Coming soon. Quotes * “Madame Lefoux accepted a cup of tea and sat on another little settee, next to the relocated calico cat. The cat clearly believed Madame Lefoux was there to provide chin scratches. Madame Lefoux provided.” (Changeless, Chapter 5) * “Madame Lefoux acted as midwife. In her scientific way, she was unexpectedly adept at the job. When the infant finally appeared, she held it up for Alexia to see, rather proudly, as though she'd done all the hard work herself. 'Goodness,' said an exhausted Lady Maccon, 'are babies customarily that repulsive looking?” (Heartless, Chapter 17) * “She reached inside the wide ruffle and pulled out a little vial. “Poison?” asked Lady Maccon, tilting her head to one side.“Certainly not. Something far more important: perfume. We cannot very well have you fighting crime unscented, now, can we?”“Oh.” Alexia nodded gravely. After all, Madame Lefoux was French. “Certainly not.” (Changeless, Chapter 4) * “Madame Lefoux shrugged. "I do not know about that, my lady. I mean to say, one's life is one thing; one's technology is an entirely different matter.” (Changeless, Chapter Ten) Trivia * At some point after Finishing School and before she meets Alexia, Genevieve reads some of the Templars sacred scripture. She is also recruited to the Order of the Brass Octopus. * Although they were at school together for a brief time, she and Sidheag hide any previous association when they meet each other in Changeless. We do not know why. * Madame Lefoux delivers Alexia's daughter, Prudence. * Madame Lefoux designs Alexia's first parasol, but not her second, that one is done by Gustave Trouve. * Lefoux is pronounced "Leh-FOO""Pronouncing Names (and the Reasons Behind Them)" at Gail's blog. Links * Madame Lefoux character study, at Gail's blog. References Category:Drone Category:Order of the Brass Octopus Category:Characters Category:Finishing School characters Category:Parasol Protectorate characters